SECTION 55.1-2134. Executive board members and officers  

A. Except as provided in the declaration, the bylaws, subsection B, or other provisions of this chapter, the executive board may act in all instances on behalf of the association. In the performance of their duties, the officers and members of the executive board are required to exercise (i) the care required of fiduciaries of the proprietary lessees if appointed by the declarant and (ii) ordinary and reasonable care if elected by the proprietary lessees.

B. The executive board may not act on behalf of the association to amend the declaration; to terminate the cooperative; to elect members of the executive board, except as provided in the declaration pursuant to subsection F; or to determine the qualifications, powers, and duties or terms of office of executive board members. The executive board may fill vacancies in its membership for the unexpired portion of any term.

C. Within 30 days after adoption of any proposed budget for the cooperative, the executive board shall provide a summary of the budget to all the proprietary lessees and shall set a date for a meeting of the proprietary lessees to consider ratification of the budget. Such meeting shall be held not less than 14 nor more than 30 days after mailing of the summary. The meeting place, date, and time shall be provided with the budget summary. Unless at that meeting a majority of all the proprietary lessees or any larger vote specified in the declaration reject the budget, the budget is ratified, whether or not a quorum is present. In the event the proposed budget is rejected, the periodic budget last ratified by the proprietary lessees shall be continued until such time as the proprietary lessees ratify a subsequent budget proposed by the executive board.

D. Subject to subsection E, the declaration may provide for a period of declarant control of the association, during which period a declarant, or persons designated by him, may appoint and remove the officers and members of the executive board. Regardless of the period provided in the declaration, a period of declarant control terminates no later than the earlier of (i) 60 days after conveyance of 75 percent of the cooperative interests that may be created to proprietary lessees other than a declarant, (ii) two years after all declarants have ceased to offer cooperative interests for sale in the ordinary course of business, or (iii) two years after any development right to add new units was last exercised. A declarant may voluntarily surrender the right to appoint and remove officers and members of the executive board before termination of that period, but in that event he may require, for the duration of the period of declarant control, that specified actions of the association or executive board, as described in a recorded instrument executed by the declarant, be approved by the declarant before they become effective.

E. No later than 60 days after conveyance of 25 percent of the cooperative interests that may be created to proprietary lessees other than a declarant, at least one member and at least 25 percent of the members of the executive board must be elected by proprietary lessees other than the declarant. No later than 60 days after conveyance of 50 percent of the cooperative interests that may be created to proprietary lessees other than a declarant, at least one-third of the members of the executive board must be elected by proprietary lessees other than the declarant.

F. Unless the declaration provides for the selection of one or more independent members of the executive board, no later than the termination of any period of declarant control the proprietary lessees shall elect an executive board of at least three members, at least a majority of whom must be proprietary lessees. To the extent that the declaration so provides, the members of the executive board appointed by the declarant may continue to serve out their terms, and the declarant may continue to appoint a minority of the members of the executive board until all of the development rights reserved by the declarant have been exercised or have expired. In addition, the declaration may provide for the selection of one or more independent members of the executive board, who are neither proprietary lessees nor affiliated directly or indirectly in any way with the declarant, by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the executive board. The executive board shall elect the officers. The executive board members and officers shall take office upon election.

G. Notwithstanding any provision of the declaration or bylaws to the contrary, the proprietary lessees, by a two-thirds vote of all persons entitled to vote at any meeting of the proprietary lessees at which a quorum is present, may remove any member of the executive board with or without cause, other than a member appointed by the declarant.

1982, c. 277, § 55-460; 2004, c. 242 ; 2019, c. 242 .